Principle vs. Theory

Principlenoun

A fundamental assumption or guiding belief.

Principlenoun

A rule used to choose among solutions to a problem.

Principlenoun

Moral rule or aspect.

Principlenoun

(physics) A rule or law of nature, or the basic idea on how the laws of nature are applied.

Principlenoun

A fundamental essence, particularly one producing a given quality.

Principlenoun

(obsolete) A beginning.

Principlenoun

A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.

Principlenoun

An original faculty or endowment.

Principleverb

(transitive) To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet or rule of conduct.

Principlenoun

Beginning; commencement.

Principlenoun

A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.

Principlenoun

An original faculty or endowment.

Principlenoun

A fundamental truth; a comprehensive law or doctrine, from which others are derived, or on which others are founded; a general truth; an elementary proposition; a maxim; an axiom; a postulate.

Principlenoun

A settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct; an opinion or belief which exercises a directing influence on the life and behavior; a rule (usually, a right rule) of conduct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle.

Principlenoun

Any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance, or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; - applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc.

Principleverb

To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet, or rule of conduct, good or ill.

Principlenoun

a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct;

Principlenoun

a rule or standard especially of good behavior;

Principlenoun

a basic truth or law or assumption;

Principlenoun

a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system;

Principlenoun

rule of personal conduct

Principlenoun

(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature);

Principlenoun

a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning

Principlenoun

a rule or belief governing one's behaviour

Principlenoun

morally correct behaviour and attitudes

Principlenoun

a general scientific theorem or law that has numerous special applications across a wide field.

Principlenoun

a natural law forming the basis for the construction or working of a machine

Principlenoun

a fundamental source or basis of something

Principlenoun

a fundamental quality determining the nature of something

Principlenoun

an active or characteristic constituent of a substance, obtained by simple analysis or separation

Principle

A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed.

Theorynoun

(obsolete) Mental conception; reflection, consideration.

Theorynoun

(sciences) A coherent statement or set of ideas that explains observed facts or phenomena and correctly predicts new facts or phenomena not previously observed, or which sets out the laws and principles of something known or observed; a hypothesis confirmed by observation, experiment etc.

Theorynoun

(uncountable) The underlying principles or methods of a given technical skill, art etc., as opposed to its practice.

Theorynoun

(mathematics) A field of study attempting to exhaustively describe a particular class of constructs.

Theorynoun

A hypothesis or conjecture.

Theorynoun

A set of axioms together with all statements derivable from them. Equivalently, a formal language plus a set of axioms (from which can then be derived theorems).

Theorynoun

A doctrine, or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or contemplation, without a view to practice; hypothesis; speculation.

Theorynoun

An exposition of the general or abstract principles of any science; as, the theory of music.

Theorynoun

The science, as distinguished from the art; as, the theory and practice of medicine.

Theorynoun

The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or moral; as, Lavoisier's theory of combustion; Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments.

Theorynoun

a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena;

Theorynoun

a tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena;

Theorynoun

a belief that can guide behavior;

Theory

A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research.